Mum's Famous Nippattu Recipe: Crispy Crackers to Snack on at Home

One of my favourite snacks to enjoy with a hot cup of steaming Indian Filter coffee is the spicy and crunchy nippattu. It's a match made in heaven!

There are many variations of nippattu recipes from family to family. This nippattu recipe is from me to my son with love and every time we prepare this crunchy cracker, it turns out excellent.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Makes 15 large or 30 small crackers

Ingredients 

• 1 cup rice flour (fine)
• 1 big tbsp plain flour
• 1 big tbsp semolina (fine)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder or cayenne pepper or 6-8 whole red chillies
• ¼ tsp Asafoetida
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts without the skin (do not roast them too much)
• 2 tbsp roasted split chickpeas (without husk)
• 1tbsp white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp salt
• 3 tsp warm or hot oil
• ½ cup water to mix the dough
• Few finely chopped curry leaves
• ¼ cup desiccated coconut or dry grated coconut flakes
• Oil to deep fry (sunflower or rice bran oil) 

Preparation

1. Coarse grind the peanuts & roasted split chickpeas. Note: If you’re allergic to peanuts, you can substitute them with almonds or use no peanuts.
2. Prepare the mixture of rice flour, plain flour, chilli powder, fine semolina, Asafoetida, salt, sesame seeds, curry leaves, coconut and the above peanut mix. Mix it well. TIP:  I prefer to use full red chilli (around 6-8) and coarse grind with coconut flakes separately instead of using the chilli powder.
3. Heat 3 tsp oil and add it to the above mixture of flour and nuts. Blend the mixture well and set aside.
4. I divide the flour into two portions and mix one portion with water before adding the other portion. Add water slowly. It should make a medium-density dough.
5. Divide the dough into 15 or 30 pieces to make the Nippattu, the spicy crackers. 
6. Pour oil for frying into a large frying pan. Heat the oil on medium heat.
7. Take the dough, make it into a small ball, then press it onto your palm to make a circle, or you can also roll it and then use cookie cutters. You can flatten it on greaseproof paper. Your choice to make it look round or circle.
8. Once the oil is hot enough (check by adding a little dough to the oil, the dough has to come up immediately), add the flattened dough balls, one by one.
9. Fry it until it turns golden brown on both sides.
10. Let it cool on a tray with kitchen paper towels.
11. Our spicy, crunchy nippattus are ready. 

This is a guilt-free snack you can enjoy with our lovely Malgudi Days Coffee.